Lessons to lessen college debt at Wausau library

Kimmie Kretz, a career coach for Northcentral Technical College, gives a presentation at a Degrees of Debt information night at the Marathon County Public Library in Wausau on Feb. 23, 2017.(Photo: Nora G. Hertel/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

WAUSAU - Jessica Zarnke is kicking herself. She could have saved $9,000 in student loan debt if she'd only spent one more year at a two-year college before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

She is now a parent of twins and a college resource counselor for the University of Wisconsin Colleges, where she helps prospective and current students avoid the mistake she made. Zarnke shared her story Thursday at the Marathon County Public Library in Wausau during an information night offered as part of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin's Degrees of Debt series.

A few other college and scholarship experts shared advice and answered questions Thursday. Zarnke wasn't the only one to share a hard-earned lesson.

Kimmie Kretz is a career coach at Northcentral Technical College. She attended a four-year university "because that’s what all my friends did," she said. "I was miserable every step of the way."

In college, she went home every weekend to stay with family and work, she said.

Kretz and others at the info night told a group of about 25 parents, guardians and students to be deliberate in college planning and to remember the benefits of scholarships, financial aid applications and two-year programs which can dovetail with four-year degrees.

"We play well together," Kretz said of the technical college and the UW System, referring to transfer agreements that allow students to carry credits over if they switch tracks and change schools.

Some parents who attended the Degrees of Debt event Thursday in Wausau are still a few years from sending a child to college. Cindy Osiecki's son is a freshman at D.C. Everest Senior High School and her daughter is 12.

"We're probably pretty early in the process," she said. But she's starting to get a sense of what options are available. And she learned how steep college can be when University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Admissions Counselor Chris Brundidge projected a tuition comparison from two-year public colleges (around $2,000) to four-year private schools (close to $30,000).

"The cost of schools, I knew it was pretty high," Osiecki said. "It was good to see the numbers out there."

The average Wisconsin student debt load is near $30,000 after graduation, but Osiecki isn't too concerned about that figure, depending of course on the kind of work her children can secure after school.

"That's what a car is," she said. "College is an important investment."

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Ka Lia Smith (center), a financial aid adviser at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, answers questions after a Degrees of Debt info night at the Marathon County Public Library in Wausau on Feb. 23, 2017.(Photo: Nora G. Hertel/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Some students do flounder after graduation when they finally face the bills they've racked up throughout their education. The Degrees of Debt series has reported on that problem and possible solutions. The Wausau info night is one in a series to bring experts into Wisconsin communities and help families prepare for and mitigate college debt.

Ka Lia Smith, a UWSP financial aid adviser, said her office will work with students as they prepare to graduate and, often, students are surprised to learn they owe $29,000 for their loans.

Community Foundation of North Central Wiscosnin Executive Director Jean Tehan (second from left) answers questions about scholarships after a Degrees of Debt info night at the Marathon County Public Library in Wausau on Feb. 23, 2017.(Photo: Nora G. Hertel/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)